The StewartBrown Physio Benchmark: What 2.97 Minutes Means
The most quoted number in aged care physiotherapy is 2.97 - StewartBrown’s benchmark for physiotherapy and occupational therapy minutes per bed per day. Boards ask about it, providers get measured against it, and it’s routinely misused. Here’s what it means, how to calculate your own number, and why hitting it isn’t the same as running a good program.
Where the number comes from
StewartBrown’s Aged Care Financial Performance Survey aggregates data from a large share of Australian residential providers, and its allied health line reports therapy staffing as minutes per bed per day. The current physiotherapy and OT figure is 2.97 minutes. It’s a sector average of what facilities actually deliver - not a regulatory minimum, and not a clinical recommendation.
Calculate yours in two minutes
Take your total physiotherapy and OT hours delivered in a month, convert to minutes, and divide by (occupied beds × days in the month). A 100-bed facility receiving 150 therapy hours a month is delivering 9,000 ÷ 3,000 = 3.0 minutes per bed per day - right on benchmark.
Do the calculation with delivered hours, not contracted hours. The gap between the two is its own finding.
Why minutes alone mislead
Two facilities can both sit at 3.0 minutes with completely different programs:
- Facility A: almost all one-on-one sessions, delivered reactively to referrals. High cost per resident touched, no group program, thin falls prevention.
- Facility B: a structured week of evidence-based group sessions (with physiotherapy assistants extending clinician reach), targeted small-group falls programs for eligible residents, and one-on-one care reserved for complex needs.
Same number. Facility B touches three times as many residents, runs a documented program that satisfies Standard 3, and generates evidence its board and assessors can read. The mix matters more than the minutes.
What top-quartile providers do
The pattern we see across the strongest programs in the 50+ facilities we service: a named, branded program residents and families recognise; group therapy as the backbone with clear entry criteria; falls prevention built on published evidence; outcome measures collected and reported monthly; and therapy data feeding AN-ACC reassessments rather than sitting in a drawer.
Benchmark yourself properly
Benchmarking is the first hour of our Reablement Workshop - your delivered minutes against StewartBrown and peers, your program mix against best practice, and a Start/Stop/Keep review of everything currently running. You leave with your real number and a plan for what it should buy you.
Want your number checked? Call 1300 871 249 or book a discovery call.
Read next: Strengthened Standards: what they require for reablement · Residential aged care services